Her Biggest Mistake
by TheConjuringMind
Summary: Kate finally identifies her mistakes, and attempts to fix them one at a time. Starting with her biggest mistake of all; hurting Rusty. Alternate Movie Ending. Kate/Rusty Fluff.


**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Stuck In Love.**

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Kate hesitated when she reached the door-step, wondering if her reappearance would cause Rusty even more pain and hurt, or if this would indeed be the only way to mend their broken riff.

A cold breeze blew through the dead air, and she quickly drew her cardigan around her freezing torso in an attempt at keeping warm.

Her teeth chattered lightly from the cold, and her body threatened to send shivers down her spine.

 _Maybe this isn't a good idea_ , she thought.

 _It is Thanksgiving after all._

What would make him want to see her now? Especially after all she'd done to him.

She'd thought that sending him that last letter would at least bring herself some solace, but deep within her heart she knew, that even that was wrong.

What did she expect him to do, forget her? After all that they had been through? She knew that if she'd been on the other end of things she'd never be able to let him go like she was so selfishly expecting him to do of her.

Finally making up her mind, she extended out a thin, cold arm, and rapped lightly on the door. Not necessarily expecting an answer.

A few long seconds passed, and she felt herself growing far more cold and empty than before.

 _Hell_ , she didn't even deserve to see him. Even if he did want to see her by some slim chance.

Better yet, his parents probably didn't even want him to see her. Given the fact that she was as messed up as she was.

Kate's thoughts momentarily fizzled out when she suddenly heard the light sound of the door's lock 'unclicking' from the other side.

Her body quickly stiffened at the sound of movement, and she held her breath in unnecessary suspense.

Though it wasn't but a second before the door was opened, it felt like an eternity to Kate, who anxiously awaited for Rusty to emerge.

To her surprise, it _was_ Rusty that opened the door, and not his father or sister.

A sad smile spread across her face, like strawberry jam on a piece of bread, and she was greeted with an equally sad, yet happy smile worn by Rusty.

"Kate!" He said enthusiastically, as if he hadn't seen her in years.

She smiled shyly back at him, unsure of what would be her best approach in the matter.

His eyes carried a certain sorrow, or hurt, despite his elated facial expression and over-all demeanor, and she felt inwardly saddened knowing for a fact that she was the cause.

"Rusty..." She began quietly, tugging awkwardly on her cardigan's sleeve. "I know I have no right to be here, it' just-"

"What do you mean 'no right to be here'?" He asked, concern evident on his face.

"Look, Rusty," She started again, looking sadly into his eyes. "I didn't want to leave things between us the way I did."

"It wasn't your fault," He started. "you had an addiction-" But she held up a hand to silence him.

"No, Rusty. I mean the _letter._ "

" _The letter?_ " He repeated, confusion evident on his face.

"Yes. But that too. You see, all this hurt that I caused you, all that sadness, I didn't mean to hurt you Rusty. You weren't supposed to get hurt. All these problems I caused you-" Rusty was quick to interject.

"They weren't your fault-" She quickly held up another hand to silence him, and he took her cue by stepping outside on the porch to make their conversation more intimate, and closed the front door behind him.

" _Yes, they were_." She said firmly. "All these 'problems', they're _my_ problems, Rusty. I don't want you to hurt anymore because of me. So...I just had to get that off my chest. So...bye.." She quickly turned to leave, fully expecting him to be done with her after her 'speech', only to have him take hold of her wrist and spin her back around to face him.

"Wait!" He pleaded, gripping her arm a little tighter, afraid of her leaving him yet again.

"Rusty, let go." She said, tugging half-heartedly on her arm.

"Please, wait." He pleaded helplessly. "Can't you stay?"

Her shoulders slouched, and a soft sigh escaped her lips.

"I can't Rusty. I already told you I don't want to hurt you anymore, so just let me go." She tugged one last time on her arm, and he slowly released his hand from her wrist, opting instead to put a gentle hand to her cheek.

"Please, Kate. I promise you won't hurt me."

"Rusty we can't be together anymore, we can't. Not after what I did to you." A small tear streamed down her cheek, and she turned her face away from him in shame.

"But I forgive you," He tried desperately. "it doesn't matter anymore!"

"No," She said firmly, removing his hand from her face with her own. "that's _exactly_ what I mean. You forgive me now, and you'll forgive me again."

"Of course!" He tried again. "I'll always forgive you, no matter what."

"That's exactly my point!" She yelled. "You'll never stop. No matter what I do, you'll never love me any less!"

"No," He confirmed. "I won't."

"And that's the problem!" She waved a dramatic hand in the air. "Can't you _see?_ It's not you, Rusty, it's me. No matter what I do, I'll never be good enough for you. I'll never love you like you love me. I'll never care for you like you care for me, I'll never-" Her words were momentarily interrupted by his lips colliding with hers, and he weaved his hands into her hair.

They kissed for about 10 seconds, Rusty pulling away only to refill his lungs with a good breath of air.

"I don't care..." He breathed, a puff of cold air escaping his lips as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Rusty-" She started again, only to have him talk over her.

"I don't care if you think that this will never work out between us." He blurted.

"I don't care that I love you more than you will ever love me. And I don't don't care if you break my heart again, and again, and again. Because no matter how hard you try to pull away from me, Kate, no matter what, I'll never let you go."

"Rusty..." Her voiced cracked, a happy tear sliding down her cheek.

A small smile adorned his lips, and he brushed her tear away with his thumb.

"I love you, Kate. I just want you to know that."

She leaned her head against his chest, and wrapped her arms around his warm body.

"I love you too..."


End file.
